Teaching Kids To Knit

Kitty has become quite the knitter. She loves to sit peacefully in a comfy spot and knit quietly. She has knitted herself a hat, a chicken, her dolls a blanket, her animals some scarfs. I find it magical to watch her in her own world while she works with her hands and the lovely wool. Our cat Beamer can feel the beautiful energy that radiates from her when she's knitting too as Beamer often curls up next to Kitty and sleeps with a constant purr.

I love that Kitty knows that she can make something beautiful with her own hands. It's important to us that she uses beautiful yarn too and we spend a little extra to buy her top quality yarn in beautiful colors. I love that she respects the quality of the materials she works with and values her work.

In Waldorf schools, children learn how to knit as a part of their First Grade curriculum. Handwork is an important aspect of their education throughout the years. It's good for them for so many reasons. The hand eye co-ordination needed is excellent practice and it's a super activity for connecting their left (technique) and right (creativity) brains. It's a peaceful meditative activity which can be very helpful in alleviating stress. But, what I am most enamored with right now is the aspect of knitting that demands a child to start on a project and work on it for many months before it reaches completion. Kitty took 4 months of knitting to finish her hat... 4 months! In our fast paced, surface obsessed, modern world, when does a child work on anything longer than a few minutes, let along 4 months!

If you want to teach you child to knit, perhaps start the way they start in Waldorf schools... by making your own knitting needles together... here is a tutorial. If you don't know how to knit yourself, don't let this put you off... it will be a lovely bonding time together as you teach each other.  There are many tutorials on Youtube that can help you every step of the way. I love the rhyme Kitty taught me to help me remember the technique when I was learning...

In through the front door,
Once around the back,
Peek through the window,
And off jumps Jack!

Happy knitting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Yarn Wrapped Branches for Spring

I saw some wonderfully colorful, yarn wrapped, branches on Pinterest the other day and knew that Kitty and I would have to give them a go. What a perfect way to bring a splash of rustic Spring color into our home.

So, on a cold and rainy day, Kitty and I set to work. The trick is to choose nice sturdy sticks that have great random angles and twiggy nodes. We used our rainbow yarn that changes color every so often. It's important to always use quality yarn and well worth the extra few dollars for the beautiful results good yarn ensures. It's important to me that Kitty and I work with yarn made of natural materials... wool, alpaca, cotton. There's something magical about working with natural materials... it's a warming and authentic experience and if you are going to spend the time making something, you might as well respect it enough to make the whole experience as meaningful as possible.

As we worked together, wrapping tightly our sticks, Kitty and I talked about what colors we liked best and why. We thought about what each color means to us and what it makes us think of. Our time together is so precious and I value these bonding times with all my heart. Getting to know her as she blossoms in to a beautiful person is a true gift of motherhood.

And, to make something beautiful together is a gift too... aren't they lovely!

How do you bond with your children?

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Finger Knitted Flowers.

I was the luckiest mom on Mothers Day. I received two very precious gifts... a hand-dyed silk scarf from Teddy that he had painted for me in school (I'm wearing it now as it's a rainy Spring day here in Southern California). From Kitty, I received an utterly gorgeous finger knitted flower that she made for me at school too. Her flower was so beautiful that I asked her to show me how to make a few more to go in my antique apothecary bottles. Oh my... I am utterly in love with them!

'It's so easy, Mom!' she enthused. 'All you do is finger knit some pretty yarn into a long rope, roll it up into a spiral and sew it onto a stick!' As I am someone who has never finger knitted before and don't sew very often, I couldn't help being skeptical at the 'easy' part. But, true to her word, Kitty showed me how to make these beautiful yarn flowers in a couple of minutes. Really... our three were made in about 20 minutes.

All that's needed is:

* prettily colored yarn (the more textured the better)
* a big needle
* sticks


To finger knit, tie the end of your yarn into a slip knot (make a loop, thread the long end of the yarn through the loop and pull tight)


A simple slip knot.


Put the slip knot over your left index finger (if you are right handed). Adjust the knot to fit snugly over your finger. The long end of the yarn is the one hanging down... the short end is the one Kitty is holding in her other fingers.



Kitty calls her left hand (the one the the slip knot attached to it) her 'needle' hand. She calls her right hand, her 'working' hand. All you have to remember is left... needle. Right... working.


So now, to finger knit, with your working hand, loop the long end of the yarn over your needle finger, in front of your slip knot.


Clinch the yarn onto your needle finger with the thumb of your 'needle' hand.


With your working hand, pick up the slip knot and pull it over the second loop.


And right off your needle finger.


You now have only your second loop on your needle finger. Start the process again... make a loop over your needle finger with the long end of your yarn, in front of the yarn loop that is already on your needle finger. Slip the first loop OVER the second loop you have just placed there and slip it right off your needle finger. Pull tight, leaving just the third loop 'knitted' onto your needle finger. Your finger knitting will form a long finger knitted loop below your needle finger. This is what it will look like...


Continue finger knitting until you have a long yarn rope about the span of your outstretched arms, finger tip to finger tip (about a yard or two). Knot it securely so that it won't unravel and cut it from your ball of yarn.

Now, because we want our yarn rope to be thicker than just one strand, we finger knit the rope we have just finger knitted... as Kitty calls this process, we 'double finger knit' it.

Again, make a slip knot. Try to get the slip knot as close to one end of your yarn rope as possible so that you have one very short end and one loooooooong end.


Thread the slip knot over your needle finger. Loop the long end over your needle finger, in front of the slip knot.


Pull the slip knot over the second loop and off your needle finger. Pull tight. Begin again... loop, first loop over second loop and off needle finger. Pull tight. Again. Again.


Again. Again. Until your whole first rope is finger knitted into a lovely thick second rope.


Roll up your lovely thick yarn rope into a spiral.


Sew your spiral into place so that it doesn't unravel when left on it's own.


Kitty is so confident at sewing because she doesn't try to sew it perfectly neatly.


In fact, the rougher the spiral is sewn, the more charming your flower looks.


Kitty sewed the sticks onto the back of the flowers.


Voila! Pretty yarn flowers!!


They look beautiful as the centerpiece on our diner table.


Happy finger knitting.
Blessings and magic,
Donni